National Poison Prevention Week is the Perfect Time to Make Sure Your Home is Safe with These Poison Prevention Tips

Published on March 24, 2016

During the third week of March we observe National Poison Prevention Week, a week set aside to raise awareness to the estimated two million poisonings that are documented annually. This year, National Poison Prevention Week is March 20th through 26th, just in time for spring cleaning. With the first day of spring also being day one of National Poison Prevention Week, this is the ideal time to learn how to make your home and air quality safe while you’re cleaning.

Cleaning Products

Store them in a locked cabinet, place them up high, do whatever possible to guarantee little fingers and paws can’t get to your cleaning products. You can install child-safety locks on you cabinets and drawers to help keep young ones and animals away, but child-safe does not mean child-proof. Keeping cleaners up on a tall shelf or in an inaccessible cabinet is the safest way to help keep your young ones from accessing unsafe chemicals. Always leave your cleaners in the container it came in with the label intact to avoid any confusion and to make sure you have all the information in the event something does happen. Also, remember to keep fans on and open windows while you are cleaning to keep the chemicals from getting stuck in your breathing air.

Two key things mentioned about cleaning products are also very important for medicines.

Just because it’s natural doesn’t make it non-toxic

Hyland’s Teething Tablets are homeopathic tablets used to help soothe pain caused by teething. Many moms and dads swear by these pain-killing miracles to bring relief to their little one, but over four years ago a new formula was released after the FDA found inconsistent amounts of belladonna in the tablets. Belladonna is a toxic plant and eating a small amount of its leaves or berries may be fatal. That being said, the belladonna plant is used for many medical purposes – it’s in the eye drops that dilate your eyes, and is used (blended with other medicinal substances) to treat stomach ulcers, Parkinson’s disease, and the flu. The thing you can’t overlook is just because something is natural doesn’t indicate that it is non-toxic, and almost anything – found in nature or not – in excessive doses could be life-threatening.

Child resistant does not mean childproof

Envision it, you’re cooking breakfast and you hear, “Mama, this candy isn’t good.” You spin around to find your two-year-old holding your prescription pain medication bottle in one hand and a small white pill in the other. Twenty minutes later you’re pacing in the ER wondering how a mom who made all of their baby food from organic fruits and veggies and baby-proofed the entire house while still pregnant managed to end up with a pill bottle, not only in the vicinity of her toddler, but where they could actually get it opened. Just because the lid is child-resistant, it doesn’t make it child-proof so keep those medications locked up tight.

Outdoor Chemicals

Even if you keep your pesticides , fertilizers, and rat poisons outside, doesn’t mean you can store them anywhere. Keep them on a high shelf or store them locked away in a tool cabinet. If you are spraying repellents around your home, do it right before you and your family are planning to be away for an extended amount of time to avoid someone inhaling or getting into the chemicals.

CO Detectors and Appliances

Carbon monoxide poisoning is more common than we’d like to think and, unfortunately, since there’s no scent and the symptoms are flu-like, it can be too late by the time we realize what’s happening. Installing a battery-operated CO detector will help alert you and your family of any dangers, and having your heating system, water heater, and any other gas, oil, wood or coal burning appliances properly inspected and maintained by a qualified technician will help detect the danger early or avoid it altogether.

Batteries and Magnets

Every toy at the store now seems to make plenty of noise that is powered by batteries. It’s easy to toss them in a drawer since it appears like you’re continuously having to track down another AA – but don’t. Batteries are made up of chemicals, and the smaller ones, like AAA or coin batteries, are easy to swallow. During digestion, the covering on batteries can disintegrate and leak toxic acid into the ingester’s body.

How to Get Help

If your children should ever ingest any chemicals, medication, or anything you feel is dangerous, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Some people are afraid that contacting Poison Control to inform them of their child ingesting something toxic could get them in trouble with child protective services, but that’s not true. The Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects all calls to Poison Control and means they cannot share your personal information with CPS or police. The safety of you and your family is too important, so always call even if you’re unsure.

If you are ever in need of help to make sure your heating appliances are safe, please call Peachtree Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning at 678-235-9699 to schedule an appointment. Have a safe and healthy Poison Prevention Week.

To read more about poison prevention and read how you can make your family’s house safer, visit http://www.poisonprevention.org/ or visit these other resources:

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